The common problem of how to easily remove screw or twist type closures has become a more significant issue in recent years due to the increasing average age of the population. Also, ailments such as arthritis, tendonitis, and other joint or hand issues, often make opening screw type containers very difficult. Some twist type closures, like prescription medicine bottles, can require significant hand strength, as well as coordination, due to the high turning force that is required, while simultaneously pushing down, in order to open the container. Many screw type caps require significantly increased hand strength due to the need to break plastic or metal tamper prevention tabs during the process of unscrewing the cap. The age old problem of how to easily open a difficult jam, pickle, or other type jar is also easily resolved by the present invention.
A large portion of the currently known screw type openers are of the two hand operated type which required each hand to grip or twist while opposing the other—for example U.S. Pat. No. 0,186,240 A1 to Donahue, U.S. Pat. No. 0,298,508 A1 to Metcalf, U.S. Pat. No. 1,111,998 to Duvall, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,887,152 to Geisler. These openers require two strong opposing hands in order to operate in addition to a significant amount of coordination, strength, and muscle control. In the case of prescription type containers, strength and muscle control are required in both hands, while the user must simultaneously press down, in order to open the container. Using these types of opposing hand operated openers present a significant challenge and do not meet the needs of the elderly, the young, or those with problems of the hands. These types of opposing hand operated openers also have limitations due to the fact that the user must provide both the retaining force and unscrewing torque, while simultaneously holding the container upright and steady. During the use of opposing hand operated openers, a large amount of stress and force is built up and there is a significant risk of spillage when the cap abruptly releases. Many of the two opposing hand operated systems are also expensive with complex mechanisms or multiple parts that often need to be set, or require adjustments, each time they or used.
Automatic jar openers represent another significant portion of the known prior art—for example U.S. Pat. No. 0,079,567 A1 to Dubois, and U.S. patent Ser. No. 03/044,597 A1 to Mikhailov. A common problem with the known automatic jar openers is that they are complicated and expensive systems with many moving parts. These products cannot be easily manufactured at a low cost and present significant maintenance and wear issues in use. These units also can take up significant space in the home or kitchen and normally must be powered, in many cases by batteries or the home electric system, in order to operate.
There are several examples of under cabinet mounted screw type container openers in the prior art—for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,632 to Hogan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,362 to Wilson, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,841,270 to Aeschbach. These openers often incorporate multiple parts, requiring various internal component fixation techniques, and multiple fasteners. As a result they consist of systems with relatively high manufacturing cost. These openers relate in most cases primarily to metal systems, also making them relatively high in cost and difficult to manufacture. These openers do not incorporate optimum gripping blades, often because the gripping blade is specified to be formed during the metal stamping process along with the body of the component. These openers often utilize very aggressive or large tooth gripping blades which can frequently damage, and sometimes even puncture, the side of the container lid. Often these blades can create sharp burrs on the lid, which can in turn very easily injure the user. The large tooth and aggressive gripping blades of the prior art openers can also provide a significant risk of injury to the user from direct contact with the gripping blade itself. Finally, the large tooth type gripping blades also provide a mechanically inefficient gripping surface, due to the fact that normally only one or two teeth can be engaged at a time to do the work.
These prior art openers are often mechanically inefficient, making them difficult to use. Some prior art openers incorporate a symmetrical V type body commonly having a wide internal angle of approximately 60° to 80°. The wide angle and symmetrical V type openers provide reduced mechanical advantage with respect to gripping the jar lid and require that the user provide additional force to push the container into the opener, while simultaneously twisting, in order to open the container. One example of the prior art is made from metal, while having a symmetrical V geometry, with a very low angle of 10°. This provides for only a very small container size range, while generating very high stresses on the opener itself.
Another example of prior art is a fully metal system with an asymmetrical split V geometry, but with a low included angle of 20°, and having the key components oriented very differently from the present invention. The loading ramp is specified by Miller to be straight, and located on the centerline, providing little mechanical advantage. While the gripping surface is at an offset at an angle from the center line. The system focuses too much mechanical energy toward the straight centerline located sliding surface, and away from the angled gripping surface, which results in significant deformation of the sliding surface as is shown in the Miller patent. The Miller patent results in significantly less energy being efficiently utilized for opening the container. The low included angle, combined with the deformation of the straight sliding surface, makes it difficult to remove the container lid from the opener itself. In order to overcome the high stresses built up in this system due to the aforementioned issues, thick metal cross sections are required by Miller, also making this system relatively expensive to manufacture.
None of the prior art devices offers the new and unique features of the invention disclosed herein.